June 29th

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- UNESCO on Friday declared Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity and the nearby pilgrimage route World Heritage sites.
Thirteen members of the 21-nation World Heritage Committee voted in favor of the Palestinian application, securing exactly the needed number of votes. Two countries abstained and six voted against the bid.
"I am delighted," Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki told the conference in St. Petersburg, to rapturous applause. "You have our most gracious thanks."

This month, I mark two important events which took place five years ago and changed the course of my life. It has been five years since I moved to Israel from New York and five years since Hamas took over the Gaza Strip and the closure of the enclave tightened.

June 28th

The new PalestinianATFP World Press Roundup Article
from The Jerusalem Post
by
Hamze Awawde
-
(Opinion)
June 27, 2012 - 12:00am

I was born in 1990. I experienced a bit of the first intifada; the creation of the Palestinian Authority and what is called Palestinian self-administration; the rounds of negotiation between Israel and Palestine; the second intifada; the failure of the peace process; Hamas in government; the West Bank separating completely from the Gaza strip; and revolutions in the Arab world called the “Arab Spring,” that changed everything in the region. I am only 22 years old.

One of the most complex challenges facing the Israel Nature and Parks Authority is finding the balance between protecting the nature in its reserves and allowing agriculture to flourish. This has become a particularly complicated issue in the Wadi Kana nature reserve in the northern West Bank, where the debate is not only focused on land, nature and the environment, but as is often the case in this country, it has become a question of politics.

The Palestinians may appeal to the United Nations for statehood. Again.
That was the message out of Ramallah on Sunday, June 24, when Fatah, the dominant Palestinian faction in the West Bank, concluded a meeting of its congress.

Volunteer Nasim Awadallah’s eyes light up when he begins talking about the soccer team he created and now coaches in his small village of Ein Nekuba, just outside Jerusalem. Each morning he helps teach sports at the local elementary school. Later he takes the most eager students out for soccer training.“When I was young, someone came to the village to teach me how to play football and now I want to teach others,” said the 19-year-old volunteer. “When I see the children each morning, I know I am really helping them.”

Local leaders of several Lebanon-based Palestinian factions asked the government Thursday to lift stringent military measures in the refugee camps and cease pursuing residents of the northern camp of Nahr al-Bared following clashes earlier this month.
“We thank our brothers in the army’s leadership for facilitating the issue of permits and loosening security measuring until we reach an end to the military situation imposed on the camp,” a statement released by the factions said.

Omri Abu, an officer in Israel's Border Police, was travelling in a bulletproof vehicle four years ago when it came under a barrage of stones thrown by Palestinian demonstrators as it drove through the West Bank village of Na'alin.
He opened the door of the SUV and shot twice, striking 10-year-old Ahmed Moussa in the forehead, killing him instantly.
What is being decided in an Israeli court is whether Mr Abu is guilty of negligence by firing his weapon.

The visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Jordan for talks with His Majesty King Abdullah came at an interesting time in the region.
Egypt has a new, Islamist, president, the Arab Spring has swept over some Arab countries and is at the doorstep of others, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is still simmering, with no solution in sight, and the situation in Syria is getting from bad to worse.

Egypt's former Oil Minister Samih Fahmi and a fugitive businessman, Hussein Salem, have been sentenced to 15 years in prison for their role in a gas export deal to Israel.
Ten other former high-ranking oil and gas officials also reportedly received shorter jail sentences.
The agreement, which supplied Israel with 40% of its natural gas at below market prices, was scrapped in April.
It was backed by the old government, but was widely unpopular in Egypt.